iPad Pro Ipad Air 5th Gen or Ipad Pro 5th Gen for streaming?

[unclejamaal]

Question:

IPad Air 5th Gen (2022?) or IPad Pro 5th Gen for general browsing, odd note taking, but mostly Netflix and Disney + streaming?

On the face of it, probably an odd question, and most would say save the money and get the Air

I can get brand new Air 64 Gb (9.6 inch screen) for just under £600. This has AppleCare of course, and also the store's 2 year warranty too.

But a used Pro 12.9" 128Gb for just under £700. No AppleCare, totally unmarked. Fully boxed, and 2 year store warranty.

Faced with the above, which would others choose? Bear in mind my usage will mostly be for portable streaming for Netflix / Disney

 

[rui no onna]

Personal preference.

For me, if the priority is portability, it's the Air since it's lighter, fits in my purse and consumes less space on an airplane tray.

 

[FeliApple]

Personal preference, agreed. Do you prefer the larger screen? Are the features of the iPad Pro worth it to you? The speakers?

Both are great choices!

 

[Skeptical.me]

I purchased the Air 5th Gen with the M1 processor and I’m really happy, I just don’t need the extra features of the Pro models. Using it for web browsing, forums, emails, notes, social media, youtube, pdf files, ssh’ing into my router, and other tasks is smooth and fast. The screen is excellent for streaming video, and the speakers are fantastic. For your use, I think you’d really be happy.

 

[FeliApple]

I purchased the Air 5th Gen with the M1 processor and I’m really happy, I just don’t need the extra features of the Pro models. Using it for web browsing, forums, emails, notes, social media, youtube, pdf files, ssh’ing into my router, and other tasks is smooth and fast. The screen is excellent for streaming video, and the speakers are fantastic. For your use, I think you’d really be happy.

Whilst the Air 5’s speakers aren’t bad, I can’t help but find them underwhelming after being used to the 9.7-inch iPad Pro’s speakers. The latter’s sound is louder and fuller, the Air doesn’t compare. That said, I don’t use the speakers much, if at all, so they wouldn’t be a factor in my decision (in fact, when I upgraded, they weren’t).

That said, I completely agree: if the OP were to be asking for the 11-inch iPad Pro (so, same screen size... almost, by this I mean, if the screen weren’t a factor) versus the Air 5 for content consumption, the Air 5 wouldn’t have any drawbacks, in my honest opinion. The feature parity is impressive.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I would go for the pro for the quad speakers. That’s one of the main reasons why I continue to buy iPad Pros. I only use my iPads for consumption. So the pro features are lost on me but I do really like the quad speakers.

 

[ericwn]

My preference is a big display, I’d probably pick the 12.9

 

[Mark Stone]

@unclejamaal — I don’t think you could lose with either. My vote, however, goes with the Air; I have one of those bad boys and they are awesome.

 

[darngooddesign]

...Faced with the above, which would others choose? Bear in mind my usage will mostly be for portable streaming for Netflix / Disney

If your primary purpose is watching videos, the obvious answer is the larger screen and better speakers.

 

[wilberforce]

I would go for a 12.9" with the MiniLED screen for movies. I find the grayish clipped blacks on the 11" Pro LCD screen pretty disappointing: poor detail in the shadows.

 

[unclejamaal]

thanks everyone. Managed to get a 6th Gen Cellular one off a second hand high street store here . 11 months applecare and store warranty and similar price to the 5th Gen prices on ebay Very happy with it. Now to install that Paper screen protector!